i see this as such a major part in cleaning a car.imo a good outcome is formed by a good prep.

this pic is from my mums nissan primera 02 plate. it was form a 2 foot square section on the roof



the car went from this



to this

 

Claying certainly does make a difference mate, looks better for it

 

i couldnt recommend it enough.ive learnt so much over the time ive been cleaning cars.
and trying to tell people why its important is a nightmare.until they feel and see the difference.

done quite a few cars now for people i know etc and they are amazed when they get them back

 

bottom of the front doors is always a main area for shit in the paint, owners always think there car is nice and clean until you run the claybar over an area, "this is what was in your paint mate"

Its certainly a useful tool

 

lol,yeah the atr trap! i hate that bit.and the skirts.it takes forever to do there.

 

Yea clay bar is a great way to bring back the quality paint finish. Megs all the way for me!!

 

was looking at megs clay kits Ł23 quid a thought balls that lol

 

23 quid is the new expensive kit.

the normal one is 12.99.well worth it imo

 

imo 20 for a clay kit isnt expensive for what it can actually do, 12.99 is a bargain though if its good.

Which clay was used above?

 

i clay mine once a week.

 

Did you also use a swirl remover Neil? If you did, which one?

I've got Poorboys SSR2 at home at the moment, may go to a proper compound like G3 or something as not overly impressed with SSR2!

 

Wish I'd taken pics of the clay when I did my saph, the clay was rank after doing the bottom of the front and rear doors. Totally makes a big difference, you could be there for 2 days with t-cut the amount of sh1t that came off mine in 20 mins or so.
Looks good!
Makes me wander who actually thought about the idea.....great product all the same.

 

The importance of claying is that it leaves as flat a surface as possible, if a surface has imperfections, pits, highs and lows etc caused by tar, tree sap etc then it won't shine as much as a perfectly flat surface will

Neil, Swirl Remover?

 

bm08, i used the meguairs clay kit at 12.99. does the job fine.i used a bowl of hot water ths time of year to keep it supple.other wise it will mark the paint

rsturbos1, claying only needs doing once every 6 months the good polish and quality wax,regularly should be plenty good enough to see you through

DAN,yes i did use a swirl remover too,it was meguiars #85 diamond compound,then show car glaze polish then,as it was my mums and she doesnt look after it,i used gold class wax rather than my hi-tech yellow wax

 

Looking good Bullett, nice work.

We sell mild clay bars: http://www.elitedetailer.com/cgi-bin...mrid=1&cmpid=2

You get two pieces and a sealable container for Ł14.99.

Regards
Elite Detailer

 

cheers bud.i get better every time. been on an r34 gtr today but i have to go back to it as i didnt get it finished. started at 9 and had to give up due to light at 5.30

no breaks either.

i will have to invest in some othe clays to see what the differences are.

 

always see a diffrence when claying the cossie..every two weeks i give it the treatment not that it needs it..

 

Neil, how course is that compared to the SSR2? I need some harder stuff on my BMW, german paint is MUCH harder than Ford stuff!

 

dan,i dont know mate never used that one.maybe gurcharn can shed some light on it?
but he does aggresive ones on his site

 

Here is a chart to show how the products compare

http://www.dano.pocketrubbish.com/de...oductchart.htm

There are a few missing off there but it gives examples of the polishes mentioned

 

That's perfect Gaz!

The 3M Compound is what I've got in the shed, Dad uses it at work for Machinwe use, I may use it by hand on the Beemer, it looks much more course than SSR2!

 

ssr3 is closer to megs 85, but the megs is still abit more abrasive. plus you can work the megs compounds longer

 

Clay kits are ace. lol

 

You won't remove swirls in BMW paint by hand, and i wouldn't recommend using compound polishes by hand either.

SSR2, 2.5 and 3 are all good, but they are really only any good when used with a machine.

If you're doing it by hand then it would be much better for you to try a polish with fillers that will hide the swirls, EliteDetailer has some good ones on his site that will last a good while.

 

I bought a meguirs clay kit with detalier etc at least 6mths ago and ive never used it.

Read the instructions and never realy got my head round it. Any chance of a quick

lesson ?

 

lol, its easy mate but takes time.

wash the car properly to get it nice and clean,then work a quarter of a panel at a time,cut the clay bar into 3 and take one part and roll it round to a ball then turn it to a flat disc as in my pic.
you have to keep the clay as soft as you can or it will go hard and mark the paint rather than remove contaminants. spray the quick detailer on quarter of the panel and the clay before gently rubbing it across the face of the paint,once you are satisfied with the finish and its smooth roll it in on its self and then reflatten it to give you a new fresh disc to start. wipe the panel dry and do the same for the rest of the car,pay particular attention to the lower doors and rear bumper where tar collects.

and this tme of year i find it best to have a hot pot of water to put the clay in between goes.it stops it going hard then

neil

 

and if you drop the clay. throw it away

 

i've never clayed before how easy is it to do it?
been looking into doin it for a while as my roof feels like a fine sandpaper lol
also which clay would u recommend?

 

depends on how bad your car actualy is. but it is easy to do realy.

if you car is realy bad, you may be there for a while with the megs stuff as its quite a soft clay. if you go with a stronger clay, you run the risk of marring etc


what colour is your car ?

 

its radiant red,
its not really really bad cant see it unless u touch it etc,
might try the megs soft clay then should do the trick as auto glym intensive tar remover was doing the job just super duper slowly.
thanks for your help

 

As said, best to go with a fine/low abrashive clay if you are not going to polish after as a more abrashive clay will leave marks

 

hi do you clay first or swirl remover what best

 

georgie, wash car well,then clay,then swirl remover then a good polish then a protecting wax.

 

So what types of clay is the bet and who makes it.Do halfords sell it.

 

Who makes the swirl remover too.Im just interested cause i wannd do my cossie.

 

cheers buddy i got poorboys wax and ex sealant

 

depending on how corse you want the clay,i use meguairs because i get it cheap.does the job but you can get coarser.and i use meguiars #83 swirl remover

 

How good is the swirl remover then.My cossie is white will using a clay bar or the swirl remover make the paint look any better?

 

do you have little black spots on your paint ? it will get rid of them ( providing they are not under the top coat ).

claying you dont always tend to see the difference it makes, but you can feel it.

Megs 83 is nice too use, but, using it by hand may take a while. i sujest if you are doing it by hand, something alittle lighter like megs 80, it will be easier to work by hand

white cars you dont tend to see swirls on as much, and they can be hard to take a picture of, but it will make a difference yes

 

I will keep an eye out for some of that megs polish.My paint work just has a few scratches here and there but apart from that its not to bad for a 17 year old car lol.I wish i could afford a new paint job.